


Green Eyes and Night-times

by lasvegas_lights



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 13:43:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14955764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasvegas_lights/pseuds/lasvegas_lights
Summary: It takes the attention Martin receives on a night out for Amanda to realise just how much she's fallen for him. It takes Amanda's jealously for Martin to realise what was in front of him the whole time.





	Green Eyes and Night-times

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Thanks to always awesome Intricatecakes and thatfaerieprincess for reading it through before I posted.

It was one of those rare nights for Amanda and the Rowdy 3. It wasn’t often they stopped off in a built up area, even less often that they decided to go out in the evening. The van had driven past a bar on the way to a motel and Amanda’s eyes had lit up. It had been too long since they had let loose, drank a little too much and regretted it in the morning. 

Martin and the boys didn’t need to get ready like Amanda did and waited for her outside the motel. Whilst Martin smoked his way through another pack of cigarettes, Vogel, Cross and Gripps rough-housed, their bodies jumpy with anticipation. 

Amanda finally left her room nearly an hour later, her eyeliner reapplied, her nicest (cleanest) clothes on and her hair tied up high on her head, thin braids holding it all in place. Her leather jacket hung over her shoulders loosely and even in the low light Martin could see a flash of green from Amanda’s nails as she fidgeted with her lighter. 

With the speakers in the van pumping Amanda’s favourite music, she stuck her boots up on the dash and drummed out a beat on her thighs. Martin joined in, tapping his thumb against the steering wheel and nodding his head to the beat. 

She grinned at Martin when he opened the door of the bar for her and she almost skipped inside. The boys piled in behind her, jockeying to be first through the threshold and almost tripping each other up. Amanda jumped out of the way and laughed at their antics until her belly hurt.

The room was busy already but not heaving and there was a band on stage already halfway through their set, the speakers sending vibrations through the beer soaked floor and pulsed up into their bodies like electric shocks. 

Martin slung his arm over Amanda’s shoulders and pulled her towards the counter. He used his height and build to push through the mass hanging around the bar, protecting Amanda by tucking her tightly into his side. At the bar he loosened his grip and let her slide onto the only empty stool. As she shrugged off her jacket and made herself comfortable, Martin had gained the attention of a nearby barmaid. 

The woman sauntered over to Martin, her bright red lips spreading into a easy smile as she wiped her hands down her short skirt. As she leaned on the other side of the bar, both Martin and Amanda were treated to a view down her tight top. Martin missed the eye roll from Amanda and ordered five beers, whatever was on tap. 

“Coming straight up, hun,” The woman said over the loud music, her hand resting over his for the briefest of moments. 

Amanda twisted her neck to check on the others, relieved to find they had found somewhere to sit, though Vogel was sitting under the table and Gripps and Cross were arm wrestling. As soon as the five glasses were placed on the counter, Amanda tucked her jacket under one arm, grabbed hold of four of the beers in both hands and left her stool to make her way over to the boys. The guys grabbed at the drinks the minute she was within reach and Amanda was forced to fight them for her own drink. 

The beer was ice cold as it slid down her throat and the drinks that followed turned into a pleasant warm feeling in her stomach until she was almost boneless in her seat. There was a thick heat in the bar that only got thicker as the room filled up and for a long while she lost herself to the music and the alcohol. 

Eventually her mind cleared enough to notice that Martin had been at the bar for a while. From her seat she couldn't see much so pushed herself up onto her feet, holding onto the back of the chair for support. Her head felt heavy and her brain was definitely working at half speed but eventually her eyes fell on Martin, still leaning up against the bar, glass wrapped in his hand.

What surprised Amanda was the flock of women surrounding him, looking up at him with wide eyes and long fluttering eyelashes. It shouldn’t surprise her, not really. Martin was fucking hot and looked like the kind of guy you rebelled against your mother with. What really surprised her was that Martin didn’t seem bothered by the attention. 

A bitter taste filled her mouth and her stomach tightened. She hoped it was the beer but as she saw one of the women place her hand on Martin’s shoulder and throw her head back, laughing at a joke that Martin definitely didn’t tell, she knew it was something else. 

A sudden need for both fresh air and nicotine had her throwing some excuses at Cross before heading straight for the illuminated exit sign. A whoosh of cool air hit her body as she pulled open the door and stepped out into the dark parking lot, only realising as she hugged her arms around her body that her jacket was still inside. 

Martin never locked the van, he never needed to. It was one of those universe things that definitely came in handy. Amanda yanked open the passenger door and dropped down into the seat, sitting sideways so that her legs hung outside the van. 

She didn’t know how long she sat outside, the sky stayed the same dark navy colour and the noise from the bar became a distant hum in Amanda’s mind. She had dipped into Martin’s stash of cigarettes a while ago and she was halfway into her fourth when she heard footsteps coming towards her. 

There was no fear as the shadowy figure appeared suddenly, stepping up close into her personal space. Her jacket was chucked onto the driver’s seat behind her and then there was a jolt of something down her arm as a hand slid against hers. She looked up as Martin slipped the cigarette out of her grip silently and brought it to his lips. 

“Cross said you left.” The air between them filled with exhaled smoke as he talked. 

“It’s nothing.” She shrugged it off. “The heat in there was too much.”

“Wanna go?”

“And ruin your evening?” Her face was frozen from the cold air but she forced it into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Go back inside, I’ll be fine.”

He breathed in deeply, looking ready to disagree. She wondered if she looked as crappy as she felt. Whilst he was distracted she stole her cigarette back. “Go!” she huffed and pushed him back gently with her boot. 

Amanda watched another moment of hesitation flicker across Martin’s eyes and then he slowly turned and went back inside without another word, looking back over his shoulder towards her briefly.

As soon as he was gone, Amanda’s shoulders sagged and she slumped against the back of the seat. The cigarette burnt out between her fingers and she stubbed it out against the van’s ashtray before swinging her legs inside and slamming the door shut. 

She didn’t remember falling asleep but woke up hours later curled up underneath the covers of her motel room bed. It wasn’t the first time Martin had to carry her to bed and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. Her boots had been slipped off her feet and were sat side by side by the foot of the bed and her jacket was hung on the back of a nearby chair. For a man so full of anger and energy, he was surprisingly gentle with her.

* * *

It took some doing, but she managed to play down what she saw in the bar that night as well as her unexpected reaction to it. She blamed it on the beer and pushed it to the back of her mind. The further away they travelled in the van, the less attention she let herself pay to the niggle in her brain that reminded her of how it felt to see Martin with the women. She was no stranger to denial.

She used the Rowdies to distract her from her own mind. Gripps would happily paint her nails again and again in the various shades he had stashed in his belongings, the repetitive strokes of the varnish leaving her calm and almost sleepy.  

When they stopped for long enough, Cross would teach her how to fight like one of them until she was bruised and aching all over. It left her simultaneously exhausted and exhilarated. When she was holding a baseball bat or crowbar in her grip, she thought back to the weak, afraid shut-in she used to be and she didn’t recognise that person inside of her anymore. 

She loved to dance with Vogel. She would blast some music from the van’s stereo speakers, turning the dial up as high as it would go. Out in the middle of the woods or on some patch of abandoned land it didn’t matter how she looked when she danced. She threw her hands in the air, shut her eyes and and moved until she was out of breath and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. When she opened her eyes, she would see Vogel dancing beside her and the others watching from their different spots around the makeshift camp.

After a few hundred miles, the van pulled into another dingy motel. They all preferred to camp. It meant they could make as much noise as they liked and the motels they could afford were never the cleanest, but they always had to return to civilisation eventually, to clean clothes, take a proper shower and stock up on essentials like beer and cigarettes.

Amanda was the first out the van, her feet landing on the tarmac with a thud as she jumped out of her seat and she quickly disappeared into the reception to get rooms. When she returned it was with one key hooked on her middle finger.    


“They only have a double.”

They tried to get two rooms whenever they had the spare cash. Amanda liked a brief moment of respite from spending long periods of time with four men in close quarters. Other times she couldn’t bear to be away from them and they all squeezed into a twin room. She would take one bed and the others would fight it out for the other.  

“We’ll take the floor.” Martin decided. He pushed away from the van and slung his arm over Amanda’s shoulder. She sank into his side easily and showed him the number on the keyring so he knew where he was going. 

“We going out tonight, boss?” Vogel jumped up and down as he followed close behind. 

Amanda peered up at Martin questioningly. 

He huffed out a laugh. “He was talking to  _ you, _ Drummer.”

Amanda gave in to Vogel’s pleading eyes. She found it hard to say no to any of the boys and it had felt too long since they had enjoyed a night out. After throwing their bags down onto the musty smelling carpet, they fell back into their regular routine. The boys were kicked out of the room whilst she got ready. 

She found herself taking longer than normal. They had been travelling all day and she jumped under the lukewarm shower briefly to rinse the grime off her skin and the grease out of her hair. Standing in front of the mirror, she dug around in her bag for her make-up.

Back when she was a recluse wholly defined by a crappy nerve disease, she never saw the point in wearing makeup. How she dressed, how she looked was the last thing on her mind when at any moment there could be nails driving into your arms or your body was convincing you you were drowning. Since meeting the Rowdy 3 she had found a strength inside of herself she hadn’t even known she had. Now she wore makeup like it was war paint. With thick black eyeliner and smokey eyes people generally steered clear of her, just the way she like it. 

When she finally emerged from the room, the boys were restless and eager to get to the nearest bar. She didn’t miss the way Martin’s eyes followed her down the staircase but she was used to the way he looked at her convinced herself didn’t really mean anything. He opened the door for her and she thanked him with a smile as she lifted herself up into the seat. 

It amazed Amanda that no matter where in the country they were, all the bars they visited all looked the same. They had the same sticky floors, low lighting and loud music. The place was already pretty full with a good crowd at the counter and most of the seats filled. At the back of the room was a low stage and a band was performing though Amanda couldn’t make out any distinct words in the screeching. 

As she walked further into the bar she noticed men noticing her and she liked how it felt. She still wasn’t used to being someone that other people noticed. The eyes on her looked away when Martin stepped up behind her. She didn’t have to look up at him to know his piercing glare was staring the men down. 

With a roll of her eyes she strode away from him and squeezed through the crowd to find a spare seat, finding an empty stool round the corner at the end of the bar. She could see Martin at the other end, speaking to an attractive bartender. 

She watched them interact as he ordered drinks for them all. Catching his eyes for the briefest of moments, he pointed over in her direction and the bartender nodded. A few minutes later, the woman appeared in front of her, holding a shot of tequila in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other, both for her. She was young and pretty, wearing tight ripped jeans and a simple white tank top which stood out against her tanned skin. Pinned to the top was a badge with  _ Susie  _ typed onto it. 

“From the guy with the mohawk,” Susie grinned, flashing a tongue piercing.

“He knows me so well” She brought the shot glass to her lips and threw her head back. The liquid left a trail of heat down her throat and into her belly which the cool beer soothed a second later. “Keep ‘em coming okay?”

“You got it.” She left to serve other customers and when Amanda looked up again she was back near Martin and seemed to stay there for the rest of the evening. Amanda watched her laugh at something he said and lean in close to whisper something in his ear. He looked at her with the same arched eyebrow she’d seen directed at her so many times before and it stung. 

The drinks that were put down in front of her disappeared down her throat almost as quickly as they had arrived. For a while she watched Vogel join the crowd of people dancing to the live music, a huge grin across his face as he jumped up and down and let the thumping beat take over his body. Gripps and Cross were nearby also nearby. Amanda couldn’t see them in the throng of people but she knew they would never stray far from the others.

It was the kind of dive bar where fights broke out regularly. When the humidity became too much to bear and too much alcohol had been consumed, fists would be thrown and glasses smashed. Amanda was pretty safe tucked into the corner and watched the drama unfold until burly men dressed in all black pulled the fighters apart and dragged them outside. 

When she glanced back down in Martin’s direction, she could see his attention hadn’t been diverted by the ruckus. His hand was still wrapped around a bottle of beer and he was looking up at Susie, listening as she told him some kind of joke. A little bit later and she was leaning in close again and her hand was running down his arm in an over-friendly gesture.

Amanda felt stupid. Stupid for feeling jealous and stupid for thinking her and Martin had a special connection. All the times it had just been him and her and he had looked at her like he was looking right into his soul, all the times he had pulled her close against his body and just smiled silently as her pulse rose, all the times he gave her his last cigarette. She didn’t want to be this person anymore. She didn’t want to pine. There was nothing between her and Martin, it was all in her fucking head. 

She stumbled slightly as she slipped off the stool, her fuzzy brain struggling to keep her upright. Pushing through the crowd, she left without a word, stepping out into the cool night air until she found a trash bin to puke into. 

* * *

The band had packed up and half the room had emptied when Martin started to realise he hadn’t seen Amanda in a while. He tapped the edge of a bottle cap against the wooden surface he was leaning against and scanned the room for her presence.

The empty stool next to him was suddenly occupied by an out of breath Vogel who leant against the bar heavily and attempted to steal Martin’s drink. Martin was too quick for him though and snatched it back and out of the way. Vogel pouted and waved at the bartender for another drink. 

The woman who had been attending to Martin for most of the evening smiled at Vogel and slid a bottle over towards him before returning her gaze back to Martin. She looked at him like she was expecting more than he was willing to give and it just reminded him again that Amanda was M.I.A. 

“You seen Drummer?” Martin asked. “Not seen her in a while.” Vogel shrugged as he gulped down the cold drink in his hand.  

“Short brunette with green fingernails and a death glare?” the bartender asked. 

Martin nodded at the apt description. “That’s her.” 

“She left a while ago.”

Vogel looked surprised and sat up a little straighter. “Boss left?”

“She ‘aint far,” Martin reassured him. He would be able to sense if she had strayed too far away from them. Still, he wasn’t happy about her being alone, wherever she was. Amanda disappearing off when they went out to a bar was becoming a habit of hers and he didn’t like it.

“Why’d she go?”

The bartender snorted. “I think it was the green-eyed monster.”

“Drummer’s eyes are brown,” Martin answered, not completely understanding what the woman was trying to say. 

“No.” She laughed. “Not her eyes,  _ her _ , she’s the green-eyed monster.”

Vogel blinked, looking back and forth between Martin and the bartender like he was watching a tennis match. She looked at them both with an amused expression. “She’s turned into a monster?” He sounded almost distraught at the thought. 

“She ain’t no monster,” Martin growled, his hand closed into a tight fist unconsciously. 

“Woah.” The woman’s hands rose up. “I just meant that she was clearly jealous.”

“What’s Drummer got to be jealous about?” Martin vocalised his confusion.

The bartender shook her head and sighed. “ _ Men _ .” She leant her forearms against the damp wood and leant in close. “ _ Me, _ you idiot, she was jealous of me.” Another bar patron caught her attention with a wave of their hand and she pushed herself away from the bar. “She clearly likes you, man,” she said before leaving

Martin stared at the last few gulps of beer in his bottle as he took in her words. Him and Drummer had definitely grown close since she had joined them and he wasn’t blind, he knew she was attractive. 

Back when they first entered each other’s lives, she was pale and withdrawn but with a fire inside her that just needed stoking. Back then he just wanted to look after her, keep her close. But she hadn’t been that person in a while and Martin hadn’t really noticed it now. She was strong and didn’t care what people thought about her. She wore what she liked and walked with her head held high. He felt so much fear from people when him and the boys rolled into a town, but Drummer,  _ Amanda _ , never feared him. 

It was hard for him to picture her jealous. Amanda was always so sure of herself and took what she wanted, whether it was his last cigarette or control of the radio. It wasn’t like her to not say something if something was bothering her. On the other hand, maybe the chick behind the bar didn’t know shit about him or Drummer and was just stirring things up. Either way, it was up to him to find Amanda and attempt to figure out what was going on in that head of hers. 

He downed the rest of the drink and slammed the bottle down. “Vogel, find the others and get back to the motel.”

“What about you and the boss?”

“Just do it,” Martin grumbled. “We’ll be fine.” He ruffled Vogel’s hair to show him he wasn’t angry, chucked a wad of notes onto the bar by his empty bottles and headed towards the door. 

The door clattered as it swung shut behind him. As his eyes adjusted to the dark he spotted a few smokers who looked up in his direction to see what the noise was then looked away again a moment later. 

Something told him that Amanda wouldn’t stray too far from the safety of the van and headed in that direction, gravel crunching under his boots as he stepped away from the warmth of the bar and into the cool night air.

Nearing the van he caught sight of a familiar figure, silhouetted by the moonlight, and it made him stop mid-step. She was perched on the top of a low fence which lined the parking lot. The van was parked up against it and she was using the side of the van to lean against. In her hand was a bottle of water half drunk and in the other was her lighter. He knew she played with it when she was stressed and it glimmered when the silver caught the moon. 

Something told her she wasn’t alone and he watched her look up and scan her surroundings until her eyes fell on him standing a couple of metres away. She looked tired and he wondered just how long she had been sitting outside in the cold alone. There was still a pleasant hum of alcohol moving around his body but she looked like she’d lost her buzz a while ago. 

“Just gonna stand there?” she asked, breaking the silence. 

Without replying Martin continued forwards and dropped down onto the fence beside her, his side pressing gently into hers. She offered her water in his direction but he shook his head and she shrugged and took another swig herself.

“The others?” She screwed the lid back on and balanced the bottle on the fence beside her. 

“They’re fine,” Martin reassured her, not needing to go into details. The breeze picked up suddenly and she shivered against him. Saying nothing, he shrugged his leather jacket off and pushed it towards Amanda. She took it with a grateful smile and tugged it on. It was much too large for her and it made her look tiny in comparison. 

He was reminded of her first night with them. She had looked nervous and unsure, like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, like they were about to tell her it was all a mistake and they wanted her to leave. The other shoe didn’t drop, they didn’t ask her to leave. She had looked small and quiet then too as they sat around the bonfire Cross had made for them. Martin had lifted himself up from his spot on the other side of the fire and sat back down next to her. With an arm over her shoulders and a warm body next to hers she had fallen asleep quickly. It still made him smile to remember how him and the boys had been forced to maneuver her into a more comfortable position on the floor and cover her in a blanket without waking her up. 

Martin sucked in a deep breath and when he exhaled it came out as condensation. “That bartender thinks you’re jealous.” He wasn’t one to dance around a subject. Even as a kid he was known for his bluntness.   
  
“Yeah?” Amanda laughed, looking down at her hands in her lap. “Well what does she know?”

“Drummer,” he drawled, calling her out on the bullshit he could hear in her words. 

Finally she lifted her head and met his gaze. “What do you want from me Martin?”

It was a question Martin wasn’t really prepared for and he didn’t answer for a long moment. As she looked at him, her eyes searching and suddenly bright in the dark, he felt his heart jolt in his chest. In the end the answer was easy. He kicked himself for taking so long to realise just what had been in front of him this whole time. 

“Not much...Just you.”

“Don’t just say what you think I want to hear,” Amanda argued, her voice cracking. 

Martin let out a short huff.  “When the hell have I ever done that?”

“Martin, please, just-” She slipped off the fence and attempted to make a quick getaway. 

Martin was quicker. 

His hand grasped her wrist to stop her from leaving and then tugged just hard enough to pull her near again. Before she could react, his other hand cupped her cheek gently and encouraged her forwards, not stopping until their lips met. 

For a split second she froze against Martin then just as quickly she sank into the kiss, opening herself up to him and moaning low into his mouth. As the kiss deepened with no sign of stopping, Martin’s hand slid from her wrist and down into her hand, weaving their fingers together. Amanda’s hand squeezed back. 

He felt her shuffle even closer into his embrace, stepping in between his legs and throwing her free arm around his neck. Her body pressed tightly against him and it left him wanting more, more than he could have when they were outside where anyone could see. 

Reluctantly he pulled away just far enough to suck in a lungful of oxygen. Her forehead dropped onto his shoulder and he felt her warm breath against his collarbone. 

Amanda lifted her head slowly and their eyes met once again. “Do you mean it?” There was a brief flicker of worry on Amanda’s face, a blink and you’ll miss it moment of fear that her feelings weren't reciprocated. 

“’Manda.” 

Amanda’s eyebrow arched as he said her name. He wasn’t used it on his tongue, she would always be Drummer to him. 

It took a moment for the right words to say. He would never be the most eloquent or effusive but he wanted to get this right. She seemed to understand and waited patiently for his response. 

“It’s always been  _ you _ Drummer...I told you, I ain’t got anywhere else to be but here for you, that hasn’t changed, I’m just a fucking idiot who-”

His words were cut off suddenly when Amanda surged forward and pressed her lips against his. Her arms went around his neck, pulling him tightly against her body as they kissed. As he breathed in through his nose he sensed an overpowering collection of emotions rolling off Amanda and it made him return the kiss with an equal intensity. 

His hands slid under the jacket she was wearing and she gasped into his mouth as they settled on her hips and then slowly slid up her body. She pulled away as his hands went as high as they could go, his thumbs pressing into the underside of her breasts. 

Her cheeks were red and he felt her chest expand and contract against his hands as she tried to get her breath back once more. If this was what all their kisses would be like, Martin was looking forward to lots more of them. 

“Fuck,” she cursed, and it sounded sharp against the quietness of the night. “You know if we go back to the motel there’s gonna be three snoring Rowdies on the bed.”

He could easily picture his three brothers, all laid out on top of the double which had been reserved for Drummer. They would have dropped onto the covers fully clothed, too tired to undress, sandy boots dangling over the edge and drool soaking the pillows. 

Martin had a sinking feeling that any alone time with Drummer would be hard to find. They would just have to make the most of the time they did get and look forward to the moments of just him and her. 

“C’mere.” With a hand on the back of her head he encouraged her to rest it on his shoulder. Her arms slide around his waist to hold him tightly, her fingers teasing the edge of his shirt to skim against the strip of skin she found underneath. 

He kept his hand in her hair, his fingers brushing through it slowly until she relaxed against him. If he kept really still, he could feel her heartbeat in her chest. 

He dropped his head to press a kiss to her crown. “Let’s just stay here a while.”

It wouldn’t be easy. Not with a government agency on their backs, a life on the road, her visions leading them God knows where, not to mention his difficulty in expressing himself out loud in the way she deserved to hear. He would work on that. 

In the distance he heard a siren pass by and it sent him back to Blackwing and the way the sirens would pierce his eardrums every time he and the boys would try and escape. It made him think of life before Drummer and life after. He was gonna fight to the death to keep what he had now.


End file.
